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Mother Goose's Bicycle Tour

Chapter 41: ENIGMAS
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About This Book

The collection frames a lighthearted bicycle tour taken by an elderly rhyming hostess and her goose, using that journey to present a wide assortment of nursery verses, parodies, and short poems. Familiar jingles and character pieces alternate with comic vignettes, riddles, and enigmata, often interspersed with French phrases and playful foreign allusions. Stanzas range from sing-song originals to humorous rewrites, accompanied by occasional scene-setting lines and a glossary. The overall tone is whimsical and theatrical, aimed at young readers through melodic rhythm, visual suggestion, and gentle absurdity.

TOMMY HAS A GUN.

Tommy has a gun,
Prenez-garde;
It has bullets made of lead,
Very hard.
He might take you for a bear,
He might take you for a hare,
He might take you for a bird,
Prenez-garde.

ENIGMAS

ENIGMA.
I feed all the Summer,
O dear, yes!
You’d better keep out of my way.
I fast all the Winter,
O dear, dear!
In the dark and the cold I stay.

ENIGMA.
I feed all the Winter,
O dear, yes!
I feed both night and day.
I fast all the Summer,
O dear, dear!
In a dark, dreary place I stay.

COMME IL FAUT.
This is a pretty little girl,
And yet I do not know,
It seems to me her manners
Are not quite comme il faut.